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North America · sea freight from Guangzhou

Shipping from Guangzhou to Long Beach

Guangzhou to Long Beach

South China Sea · Taiwan Strait · East China Sea · North Pacific

Sea corridor illustration: Guangzhou to Long Beach, United States Simplified map with a curved corridor from Guangzhou via South China Sea, Taiwan Strait, East China Sea, North Pacific to Long Beach. Illustration only; not a vessel track or schedule. CHINANORTH AMERICAPACIFIC OCEAN East China SeaNorth Pacific GuangzhouCHINA ORIGIN Long BeachUNITED STATES GuangzhouSOUTH CHINA SEAGUANGDONGDEPARTURE AREA
  1. GuangzhouChina origin
  2. South China Sea
  3. Taiwan Strait
  4. East China Sea
  5. North Pacific
  6. Long BeachUnited States
Geographic corridor illustration only, not a vessel track, port-call list or sailing schedule. The loading terminal, carrier, transshipment and dates are confirmed per shipment.

From Guangzhou to Long Beach, cargo moves out of Nansha, at the mouth of the Pearl River, crosses a North Pacific crossing with no chokepoint but real winter-storm exposure, and is discharged at the port of Long Beach.

Long Beach means US customs filings that are due while the container is still in Guangzhou, and a supply chain CBP may ask to see. Below are 5 route-specific points to plan for, what we do about each, and the documents to have ready before booking.

What we need to start

  • Typhoon season Jun–Oct
  • Nansha export
  • ISF filer
  • Supply-chain tracing file
  • HTS code 8507.60
Ask about this route United States ports from Guangzhou

Route profile

The Guangzhou → Long Beach route in brief

Origin port

Guangzhou (Nansha)

Pearl River Delta battery cargo through Nansha, where a September 2026 agreement lets Dongguan-inspected containers load without a second MSA check, and where typhoon season runs June to October.

Sea corridor

Transpacific (North Pacific)

A North Pacific crossing with no canal or chokepoint risk, but with a record of winter storms strong enough to collapse container stacks.

Elevated section of the Nansha Port Railway on concrete piers in Guangzhou's Nansha district
A container ship under way off the Guatemalan coast

Where this route gets difficult

Where Guangzhou → Long Beach shipments get held up: 5 points

They run from the Guangzhou terminal through the voyage to Long Beach and the United States import file.

  1. Origin port

    A recommended 25% charge for ESS from Nansha

    Nansha MSA told a July 2024 meeting on energy-storage carriage that ESS batteries should travel at roughly 25% state of charge, with accidental activation prevented. It is advice, not a binding rule, yet it is the number the local authority has put on the record.

    What Anxin does: For ESS cargo leaving Nansha we ask the manufacturer to state the shipping state of charge and the anti-activation measures in writing, and put both in the documents the carrier sees.

  2. Sea corridor

    Hurricane-force winter storms, October to April

    NOAA's Ocean Prediction Center has recorded hurricane-force winds (64 knots or more) in mid-latitude North Pacific storms in every month from October to April, most often in December, with 15 to 23 such storms a season in its 2001–2004 study. These are not tropical systems, so they arrive outside typhoon season.

    What Anxin does: For October–April sailings we check blocking and bracing on stuffing photos before sealing and confirm the full DG data are on the manifest.

  3. Import country

    California's battery-embedded product rules since January 2026

    Under California SB 1215, consumers have paid a recycling fee on covered battery-embedded products since 1 January 2026, and those products must be labelled with the maker's name or brand and the battery chemistry, or give that information on the maker's website. Manufacturers must also list covered and exempt products in an annual notice to retailers and CalRecycle.

    What Anxin does: If the goods landing at Long Beach are devices with built-in batteries for sale in California, we ask the brand owner to confirm the chemistry labelling and the CalRecycle notice before shipping.

  4. Import country

    Day 15 at the terminal: the General Order deadline

    US customs rules give an unentered container 15 calendar days at the place of unlading. After that the carrier hands it to a bonded general order warehouse, with transport and storage at the consignee's risk and expense, and for DG cargo that needs specialized storage the port director decides where it is kept (19 CFR 4.37).

    What Anxin does: We check with the importer's broker that the entry can be filed before arrival at Long Beach, and chase any missing invoice or HTS detail while the ship is still at sea.

  5. Import country

    E-bike batteries for California need an accredited test

    Since 1 January 2026 California SB 1271 bars distributing or selling an e-bike, powered mobility device or its storage battery unless the battery has been tested by an accredited laboratory to a standard referenced in UL 2849 or EN 15194, and the laboratory's logo and the test standard are displayed. Importers must hand over the test report on request.

    What Anxin does: For e-mobility batteries arriving at Long Beach for the California market, we ask for the accredited test report and label photos before booking.

Locator map of Long Beach, United StatesLong Beach
Locator map in the same projection as the corridor map; the dot marks the listed port position (33.77°N, 118.18°W).
Container ship being unloaded under red gantry cranes in Vancouver

Documents & compliance

Documents to line up for Guangzhou → Long Beach

Test reports, safety data sheets and import certificates come from the shipper, factory and importer, not from Anxin; our part is to review them before booking.

At the Guangzhou end

  • For ESS: written shipping state of charge and anti-activation measures from the manufacturer
  • 'Made in China' marking on articles or containers checked on photos
  • Safety data sheet and dangerous goods safe-carriage declaration for the MSA cargo report
  • Customs packaging use-appraisal result for the dangerous goods packaging (with the maker's performance appraisal)
  • Container packing certificate signed by a certified packing inspector after supervised stuffing

Carrier and voyage

  • Stuffing photos before, during and after packing, checked for blocking and bracing
  • UN 38.3 test summary for every cell and battery type
  • Dangerous goods declaration with UN number (3480 / 3481 / 3090 / 3091), proper shipping name and packing instruction (P903, or P908/P911 for damaged)

For import into United States

  • HTSUS classification from the broker (8507.60.0010 vs .0020 decides the Section 301 line)
  • Supply-chain tracing file for cells and lithium inputs, in case of a UFLPA request
Two power-tool battery packs side by side
Before you book

Match the details first

We line up UN numbers, model names and package counts across the Guangzhou filings, the booking with the carrier and the documents for United States before the booking is confirmed, so that a mismatch is fixed at origin rather than discovered at Long Beach.

Carriers we book with

Our booking panel; availability on this lane and acceptance of the declared UN numbers are confirmed for each booking. It does not mean that a listed carrier runs a direct service on this route. Carrier choice depends on the trade lane, cargo classification and each carrier's dangerous-goods acceptance at booking. The final carrier is confirmed on the booking.

Risk & mitigation

Risks on this route and who deals with them

RiskWhereMitigationWho acts
Heavy-weather damage in a winter stormNorth Pacific, Oct–AprCINS stuffing checksPacking site, checked by Anxin

Questions

Questions about shipping from Guangzhou to Long Beach

For lithium-ion batteries classified in HTSUS 8507.60.0020 and entered from 1 January 2026, USTR set the Section 301 additional duty at 25%; EV traction batteries in 8507.60.0010 have been at 25% since 2024. Other duties can apply on top. The importer's customs broker confirms the classification and total duty; we make sure the invoice gives the broker enough detail to do so.

Weather is the main risk on this crossing: NOAA recorded hurricane-force North Pacific storms from October to April, most often in December. We tighten the packing checks for those sailings.

Nansha MSA has recommended around 25% for ESS batteries and measures against accidental activation. Treat it as the local authority's recommendation; the carrier's own acceptance conditions also apply.

References

Regulations and port sources cited

  1. 19 CFR 134.11: Country of origin marking required (Legal Information Institute (e-CFR text))
  2. Section 301 Modifications Determination (Federal Register notice, Sept 2024) (Office of the U.S. Trade Representative)
  3. DHS designates steel, copper, lithium, caustic soda and red dates as UFLPA high-priority sectors (19 Aug 2025) (U.S. Department of Homeland Security)
  4. Hurricane force extratropical cyclones observed using QuikSCAT (Mariners Weather Log 49-1) (NOAA Ocean Prediction Center)
  5. Nansha MSA meeting on the safe carriage of energy-storage batteries (Guangzhou Nansha District Government)
  6. Export dangerous goods packaging inspection: service guide (Chinese) (General Administration of Customs of China (Lanzhou Customs service guide))

Next step

From enquiry to import

  1. 1EnquiryCargo, origin, destination
  2. 2Documents checkUN 38.3, SDS, packing
  3. 3BookingAfter carrier acceptance
  4. 4HandoverAt Guangzhou
  5. 5ImportClearance at Long Beach
Each step is confirmed in writing; an enquiry does not create a booking.

Ask about Guangzhou → Long Beach

Origin and destination are filled in; add the cargo facts you have.

Sending this form starts a review; it does not confirm carriage. Full enquiry form

After you send it

We check carrier acceptance for Guangzhou → Long Beach before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.

All destinations from Guangzhou · United States ports

A truck hauling a teal shipping container on a motorway

Need Guangzhou → Long Beach reviewed?

Share the cargo facts; we review the route in writing.

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